QC health officials establish protocols for COVID-19 response

The local government of Quezon City established response protocols for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases after Mayor Joy Belmonte confirmed that a resident tested positive for the illness.

The Quezon City General Hospital put up a tent near the entrance where patients showing COVID-19 symptoms could be examined by doctors.

Severe cases would be brought immediately to Tent 3 for stabilization before being transferred to isolation rooms inside the hospital, where samples would be taken from them and sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Those who will test positive for COVID-19 may be transferred to a different hospital or to the Animal Bite Center, which had been converted into an isolation room.

“Lahat ng mga may respiratory tract infections, hindi na po patutuluyin sa out-patient department at saka dito sa emergency room,” QC General Hospital Director Dr. Josephine Sabando said in a Monday 24 Oras report by Saleema Refran.

The QC Disaster Reduction and Management Office would also provide refresher courses for barangay health response teams.

“The existing protocols are in place. So far, kumpleto naman kami ng mga gamit at na-train na po natin ang mga barangays natin. So I think, I’m quite confident that we will overcome this,” Belmonte said.

The mayor earlier confirmed that a resident of the city’s 1st District tested positive for COVID-19. — Julia Mari Ornedo/DVM, GMA News